Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek), Leonard Nimoy (story)

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
George Takei	...	Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Jane Wyatt	...	Amanda
Catherine Hicks	...	Gillian
Mark Lenard	...	Sarek
Robin Curtis	...	Lt. Saavik
Robert Ellenstein	...	Federation Council President
John Schuck	...	Klingon Ambassador
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Michael Snyder	...	Starfleet Communications Officer

Storyline

The most acclaimed Star Trek adventure of all time with an important message. It is the 23rd century, and a mysterious alien probe is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In their frantic attempt to save mankind, Admiral Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco where they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change buses that are as alien to them as anything they have ever encountered in the far-off reaches of the galaxy. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy return as Kirk and Spock, along with the entire Star Trek crew.

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Plot Keywords:

underwater sequence | probe | whale | alien probe | humpback whale | 

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Taglines:

They travelled back where 23rd century man had never gone before. To a mad, crazy, outrageous time. 1986.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Startrek.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Finnish

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek IV: The Adventure Continues

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,881,888, 30 November 1986

Gross USA:

$109,713,132

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$133,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the alien probe is approaching Earth at the beginning to look for the humpback whales, there were originally subtitles saying things like "Where are you? Can you hear us?" The studio wanted to keep them despite Leonard Nimoy's objections. However, in the first test screening, test audiences indicated the subtitles were unnecessary, so they were cut.

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Goofs

Uhura reports that Chekov is being taken to emergency surgery, and Kirk and others go to rescue him in daylight. Yet he was captured after beaming in when Kirk and Dr Taylor were just starting their meal the previous evening. Surely if Chekov's condition was so critical as to require emergency surgery, that would not have been delayed by over 12 hours.

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Quotes

McCoy: You sure this is such a bright idea?
Kirk: What do you mean?
McCoy: [referring to Spock] I mean him! Back at his post like nothing happened. I don't know if you got the whole picture or not, but he's not quite operating on all thrusters!
Kirk: It'll come back to him.
McCoy: Are you sure?
[Kirk doesn't answer]
McCoy: That's what I thought.

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits play on top of photos and clips from the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Ghost Chase (1987)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Star Trek (TV Series)
by Alexander Courage

User Reviews

Anti-Trek Film

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is my favorite Trek movie but one that I say is off-limits when my friends and I discuss which Trek is the best. Quite simply, this movie is not really a Star Trek movie; Star Trek II and III are far better examples of the genre. Of course, that is what makes Star Trek IV such a fantastic movie; it's crazy and hilarious. This movie is also probably the best one for a family to see other than Insurrection, which is a weaker film anyway. The movie does have more profanity than usual, but it is dealt in such a comedic fashion that it is excusable (the whole colorful metaphors thing always makes me laugh). This is a movie that you could put a very mixed crowd in front of and enjoy; you don't have to love Star Trek to love this movie. This movie is also great because the acting has improved immeasurably since the hammy days of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek - The Motion Picture but everyone has not gone decidedly gray yet. This movie might be looked upon best as a spoof of the genre, but it is not Spaceballs. What this is is a wonderful movie with some great comedy but still some great science fiction ideas (particularly the probe, which is one of the more chilling things I have ever seen in a movie). This was the first Star Trek movie I saw as a child, and it was only until years later that I watched the others. If you have children and want them to introduce them to Star Trek, this is the perfect way. It was for me.

3.5/4 stars